I had some intel over the weekend that The Safdies were shooting their next film with Adam Sandler next winter. Well, today it’s been confirmed by the Sandman himself that the project is indeed a go.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Sandler states that this mysterious Safdie film will be shooting in “late winter” 2023, which probably means a 2024 or late 2023 release:
“I’m going to do a movie with the Safdie brothers, and we’re supposed to start in the late winter, right,” he revealed. “So part of my brain right now is like, ‘I’m on tour.’ Then once that Safdie brothers movie starts—and I love those guys, I know we’re going to dedicate ourselves into working our asses off and making sure it’s as good as it can be, and I know that takes a lot of time.”
Sandler collaborated with Benny and Josh Safdie for A24’s brilliant “Uncut Gems” in 2019. This was another essential addition to the Safdies canon after “Heaven Knows What,” and “Good Time.” This latest one will surely be worth the wait.
As mentioned a few days ago, this latest Safdies joint will not be produced by A24, with Netflix potentially eyeing the project. Timothee Chalamet is rumoured to also be part of the cast, but nothing has been confirmed to me about that.
Earlier this year, Sandler mentioned that this new film would revolve around the sports world. If you remember, “Uncut Gems,” although set in New York City’s diamond district, had a few NBA players cameoing as themselves.
In the interview, which has Sandler campaigning his “Hustle” performance, the actor had nothing but glowing praise for the Safdies whom he now calls very close friends.
“The Safdie boys, every word means a lot to them; every frame of the movie means a lot. So I don’t want to walk through anything. I care about it, and I respect those guys so much … Getting to know those guys, getting to be with those guys, it kind of felt like the old days, like early ‘Saturday Night Live,’ hanging out with a group, going places together, believing in a project together, I just felt like I had great teammates there.”
Paul Greengrass’ "The Uprising," starring Andrew Garfield, opened to $3.2M from 2,068 theaters this weekend. Yikes. The budget hasn’t been disclosed, but is said to be in the $20-$30M range.